stray

American  

[strey] / streɪ /

verb (used without object)

1. to deviate from the direct course, leave the proper place, or go beyond the proper limits, especially without a fixed course or purpose.

   to stray from the main road.

   Synonyms:

   range, rove

2. to wander; roam.

   I strayed through the maze of the forest.

   Synonyms:

   meander, drift

3. to go astray; deviate, as from a moral, religious, or philosophical course.

   to stray from the teachings of the church.

   Synonyms:

   err

4. to digress or become distracted.

   to stray from the main topic.

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noun

1. a domestic animal found wandering at large or without an owner.

   The humane society traps strays, spays or neuters them, and returns them to the feral colony in which they were found.

2. any person or animal who is homeless or friendless.

   For a popular girl, she has the oddest misfit friends—her mom says she just can’t help but collect strays.

3. a person or animal that strays.

   the strays of a flock.

4. Radio. strays, static.

adjective

1. straying or having strayed, as a domestic animal.

2. found or occurring apart from others or as an isolated or casual instance; incidental or occasional.

3. Radio. undesired.

   stray capacitance.

stray British  

/ streɪ /

verb

1. to wander away, as from the correct path or from a given area

2. to wander haphazardly

3. to digress from the point, lose concentration, etc

4. to deviate from certain moral standards

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noun

1. 1. a domestic animal, fowl, etc, that has wandered away from its place of keeping and is lost

   2. ( as modifier )

      stray dogs

2. a lost or homeless person, esp a child

   waifs and strays

3. an isolated or random occurrence, specimen, etc, that is out of place or outside the usual pattern

adjective

1. scattered, random, or haphazard

   a stray bullet grazed his thigh

Other Word Forms

• strayer noun
• unstraying adjective

Etymology

Origin of stray

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb straien, strayen, from Old French estraier, from unrecorded Vulgar Latin extrāvagāre “to wander out of bounds”; extravagant

Example Sentences

Across the pond, Larry, a stray tabby dubbed the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, lives at the British prime minister’s residence and regularly gets press coverage.

From The Wall Street Journal

The album strays away from the pop genre that first put him on the charts and instead leans into a more soulful, R&B-infused sound.

From Los Angeles Times

Maya says her manager's behaviour often strayed way beyond performance management and into personal attacks.

From BBC

I’m like, “You’ve already strayed way off course. We need to come back.”

From Los Angeles Times

As locals watched a darkening sky, police patrolled streets empty of all but stray cats, while emergency services stood on standby on the edge of the red zone.

From Barron's

Related Words

• deviate
• drift
• err
• meander
• roam
• swerve